Achilles, a congenitally deaf snow-white cat, who also predicted the match winners during the 2017 Confederations Cup, predicted the results of the World Cup matches at the Hermitage, the second-largest museum in the world, by selecting one of the two plates of food, each marked with the national flag of one of the teams. He made seven predictions but only four of them proved right.

Achilles's duties are not limited to his role as a football oracle. Since the 2017 Confederation Cup the cat has also been engaged in social work in hospices and retirement homes.

"We've taken a great fancy to Achilles, but we believe that he has deserved a quiet life, he'll feel much more comfortable in a family. We hope he'll continue fulfilling his social functions. Achilles is very sociable, he loves children, he'll continue attending the children's institutions, including the children's hospice," Kondratieva said.

According to her, there are currently 27 people on the list of candidates to take Achilles home.

"Many people are eager. We study their motives to take Achilles, we study the way Achilles chooses his masters himself, and we also pay attention to Achilles's future masters' readiness to support his public lifestyle, as it is important for him to continue attending the children's institutions," Kondratieva added.

According to his handlers, Achilles was chosen as the World Cup animal oracle for being the most stress-resistant and human-oriented of about 50 cats living at the Hermitage.

Russia hosted its first World Cup from June 14 to July 15 with the games played at 12 stadiums in 11 cities across the country.